Congress leaders were hoping that he would be back for the planned agitation on 16 March against amendments to Land Acquisition Bill. While the party was protesting on Delhi streets today, the man in question was found Missing in Action

Why Prateek Kuhad from Delhi is one of those singers who stands out despite the clanging of cutlery at a club and rises above the loud chatter of suits at the bar who have no interest in music whatsoever

Digital India will transform India and democracy through a more effective citizen-government engagement, will usher transparency in governance, take the government to the remotest villages and citizens

It is easy to be taken in by the decorative elegance of Raza’s work. But once you begin to look beyond the formal beauty of his work, you encounter a stubbornly abstract language, refusing to yield its mysteries

Says Laurent Léger, a Charlie Hebdo journalist who survived the attack on the magazine, of his colleagues who were killed to Open contributor SAMANTHA DE BENDERN who finds in today’s France a threat to national symbols

Once a Double Niner, always a Double Niner. So say soldiers of the 99th Field Regiment of the Indian Army, which was awarded the title ‘Sylhet’ for its gallantry in the 1971 War for the liberation of Bangladesh. First raised in Aurangabad as the 99th Mountain Composite Regiment (Towed) on 15 April 1964, it is remembered for its role in obtaining the surrender of Pakistani forces after a 25-day gun battle during the war. As this 20-minute documentary shows, the Double Niners were masters of tactical manoeuvres, a tradition they still try their utmost to uphold.

Alam is the co-founder of the Muslim League, the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference. Beyond the politics, and the facts of his arrest and his life, and his own agenda, there are stories of ordinary people

Since India opened its civil aviation market to foreign investment last September, UAE-based Etihad’s purchase of a 24-per cent stake in Jet Airways for $379 million has been the biggest deal so far. Now, Jet is a debt-laden carrier, and with domestic aviation no longer booming, that sum sounds too generous. But then, Etihad may be betting on the partnership’s international prospects. As if to confirm this, the Indian Government has okayed a huge jump in seats on flights from India to Abu Dhabi, Etihad’s base and global hub from which passengers can reach other destinations. “The nature and timing of the latest India-Abu Dhabi bilateral amendment [raising to-and-fro seat limits] appears to have been designed to support the passage of this commercial transaction,” says Binit Somaia of the Sydney-based Centre for Aviation, a thinktank.

If the Jet-Etihad combine keeps its fares low (say, by using cheap UAE jetfuel), it could capture much of India’s West-bound traffic—perhaps at the cost of India’s state-owned Air India, which depends heavily on West-bound traffic. So what justifies the Government’s move in favour of Jet-Etihad?

Sharan Lillaney at Angel Broking argues that such bilateral favours are necessary to attract foreign investment in Indian aviation; also, it is not a zero-sum game and Indian carriers by themselves cannot meet the incremental demand for outbound travel. Somaia, however, wonders why Etihad was given such a deal sweetener only a few months after the Centre declared that no new entitlements would be extended unless Indian carriers had exhausted all available seats. What if similar demands are made by other foreign players? While India has done well to open its aviation market, Somaia says, “ad hoc and selective liberalisation in the absence of a transparent strategic plan known to all stakeholders creates market distortions”.

As it happens, aviation operates under arbitrary rules almost everywhere in the world. In this case, if the Jet-Etihad deal puts competitive pressure on others and pushes overall outbound fares down, Indian passengers would be pleased. Where that would leave Air India is a tough question. The carrier gets 70 per cent of its global revenues from its Gulf, Europe and North America routes, the ones under direct threat. Air India does offer direct flights to Western destinations, but Indian travellers aren’t averse to Gulf stopovers. “What can save Air India,” says Lillaney, is “a professional mindset” that lets it chart its own course. But tight State control makes it unwise to bet on this.

It is easy to be taken in by the decorative elegance of Raza’s work. But once you begin to look beyond the formal beauty of his work, you encounter a stubbornly abstract language, refusing to yield its mysteries